Chapter 12
Points are virtual currency awarded for selling items or clearing trials, as well as given as rewards.
Players use them to buy necessary items and trade with others.
In practice, they are the most important resource for preparing for trials—the realm of effort, diametrically opposed to the innate talent of [Unique Ability].
"Hey, handsome, how about me? Give me 1 point and I'll let you have me."
"I do blowjobs, creampies, and anal too, oppa."
[Remaining Points: 1,100]
As I silently stared at the virtual currency in my possession, the saintess quietly asked me,
"Why are they doing that over there?"
There were quite a few women selling their bodies along both sides of the street.
The reason was simple.
"Because they have no money."
"What? Didn't those people receive any points after finishing the tutorial?"
"Of course they did. They're doing that because they need more money."
Again, points are an aspect of effort.
One of the few things players can become stronger through effort.
Selling one's body to make money is condemned on Earth, but not here.
'A very realistic solution.'
In fact, among the survivors from my first run, prostitutes were by far the most numerous.
They could earn money through loot during trials and by selling their bodies in shelters, allowing them to prepare more securely than others.
'Above all, it's a win-win transaction that satisfies both sides. The woman makes money, and the man satisfies his sexual urges.'
That's why I don't look down on women who sell their bodies. They have their own code of ethics, after all.
Of course, the reverse happened too.
"Excuse me, young folks."
I frowned as I saw an old man blocking our path.
"If you have any to spare, could you give me just a little so I can buy something to eat?"
An old man approached us and asked for help with a pitiful expression.
"Ah."
Our kind saintess seemed filled with the desire to help after seeing the old man's miserable appearance, and her face lit up with eagerness.
Right. Not a chance.
I yanked Song Hana back as she tried to step forward.
"Eek?"
Then I quietly warned the old man,
"No need. Step aside."
"Don't be like that. Just a little."
Even when I glared at him pointedly to tell him to move, the old man brazenly held his ground. When he saw I wasn't going to be persuaded, he began focusing his efforts on Song Hana.
"Miss, please persuade your boyfriend for me. I'm really hungry."
His utterly pitiable expression had somehow won over our saintess, who appealed to me as well.
"That's right, Mr. Minjun. Could you help him with just 1 or 2 points?"
"No. Elder, if you keep blocking our way, I won't stand idly by."
"Please. Even one point would be fine."
In the end, only when I reached for the axe handle did the old man notice the bloodstained axe and hurriedly back away with a shriek.
"M-murder! Everyone, be careful! That man is a murderer!"
"Huh? No! Mr. Minjun is…!"
The other beggars who had been approaching us stopped short.
"What? He's a murderer?"
They, too, soon saw the bloodstained axe and jumped in surprise, putting plenty of distance between us.
I ostentatiously lifted the axe and waved it over my shoulder.
As if I were waving an enemy general's head after spearing it on a pole.
"T-that man's axe has blood on it!"
"Run!"
People scattered in every direction.
Whew, this axe really is versatile. It's perfect for driving off riffraff.
Since things had turned out this way, maybe I should give the axe a name.
'That aside, I need to teach our sheltered saintess about the ways of the world.'
I turned to Song Hana.
"That's so mean. Mr. Minjun isn't like that."
She puffed out her cheeks and stomped her feet, expressing her sense of injustice.
When I approached, the saintess looked up at me and said with a somewhat dejected expression,
"In the end, I couldn't even help that elderly person, and I couldn't clear up the misunderstanding about Mr. Minjun, either."
I watched the people scatter in every direction and strapped the axe back to my thigh.
"Ms. Hana."
"Yes."
"How long do you think it takes an ordinary person to clear the tutorial?"
After thinking it over carefully for a moment, she tilted her head and answered,
"Thirty minutes?"
"Right. At most, it should take a day. But how many days have we stayed in the tutorial?"
"Ten days."
"Then how many days do you think that person had been here?"
"Ah."
Only then did Song Hana seem to roughly understand the situation, and she let out an exclamation mixed with complicated emotions.
She spoke in a self-deprecating tone.
"So that person received 100 points too. And spent it all."
"Yes. Even if we help that person, nothing will change. If they want to survive, they have to move on to the next trial. If anything, giving them money would interfere with that."
Of course, moving on to the next trial without any preparation meant a high probability of death.
Those 100 points were a crucial factor in reducing that mortality rate.
In other words, if someone squandered their money here without a plan, they would have to pay for it with their life.
'Seen in that light, perhaps the shelter is also one of the trials.'
There was no welfare in a place where complacency inevitably meant being left behind.
No one would take responsibility for you, and you alone had to pay the full price for your own actions.
That was the world we would be living in from now on.
I led Song Hana onward.
"Hey, young friends. If you have any to spare, could you give us some money…?"
After that, Song Hana no longer fell for it when people begged her.
It wasn't as though her personality had suddenly become decisive; she simply seemed reluctant to help because she thought her actions would actually harm them.
"I-I mean…"
"Ma'am, there's nothing for us to discuss, so please step aside."
Of course, she still couldn't bring herself to refuse people, so I had to fend them off one by one.
After I kept turning them away, no one else approached us.
'They must have realized we're not easy marks anymore.'
Around then, I stopped walking.
Once there was no one left to beg from us, Song Hana finally had time to look around. She swallowed as she gazed at the restaurants lining both sides of the street.
"We're a little late, but we should have breakfast too."
"Yes!"
"How about here?"
A grand building stood prominently where I pointed.
Not only was the restaurant large, but its luxurious exterior made it obvious at a glance that it was no ordinary establishment.
It was by far the most lavish restaurant we'd seen during our walk so far.
"Uh, I-I think it looks good. It has an atmosphere too, and it feels like they must serve incredibly delicious food."
"Right?"
As we headed toward the restaurant, I heard someone muttering nearby.
"Tsk, tsk. Looks like another bunch of idiots who only live for today. Going to that expensive place."
It did look expensive.
But people's spending habits changed according to the state of their wallets.
[Remaining Points: 1,100]
I'd received the initial support payment, and, more importantly, I hadn't sold a single accessory yet. I had plenty of money.
'More than anything, our cute saintess is staring at the food with shining eyes, so I might as well buy her one good meal.'
The way she tugged me along in quick little steps clearly meant, 'I'm so excited right now!'
Of course, that wasn't the only reason I was going along with it.
…….
I stood in front of the restaurant door and casually glanced behind me.
A group of men had been secretly following us, but they clicked their tongues and turned away.
'Crime also occurs in shelters. Even murder.'
There was only one reason people would come at us in such numbers.
They intended to surround and threaten anyone who had just entered the shelter, then extort money from them.
You might ask why we didn't simply hurry to the next region before getting extorted, but human nature being what it was, people wouldn't want to leave immediately after finally reaching a place where they could rest.
-Just give me 10 points and I won't extort you anymore, buddy.
Since they didn't extort much, just a moderate sum, victims generally handed it over, thinking they'd simply had bad luck.
'But the fact they aren't following us any farther must mean that this restaurant is that expensive.'
They had judged that we wouldn't have any money left to extort after eating.
"Huh?"
Sure enough, Song Hana's eyes went wide when she saw the price list posted right beside the door.
"Seventy-two points for one dish? I-isn't this place way too expensive? Let's just go somewhere else."
"It's fine. While you were washing up, I sold some accessories. So we have plenty of money. We worked hard, so it's all right to have one proper meal, isn't it?"
To be honest, paying for the saintess's meals hadn't been part of my plans, but I had received a huge initial support payment.
"Ah."
Only then did the saintess relax.
And even aside from that, there was another reason we had to come here rather than go to a different restaurant.
[Player Song Hana is trying to enter 'Aetherna Feast' by following you. Will you allow it?]
I accepted and entered, and a series of notifications immediately popped up before my eyes.
['Aetherna Feast' has been entered.]
[As a resident privilege, food prices have been discounted by 50%.]
[As a resident privilege, the hidden function of this location has been activated. Check the menu after your meal.]
I laughed.
I hadn't expected the treatment of refugees and residents to differ so drastically.
I was liking this place more and more.
"Welcome."
A middle-aged waiter with a magnificent mustache approached and bowed politely from the waist.
"I've confirmed two guests. This way, please."
***
We entered a luxurious, completely empty hall.
The vast hall contained 12 tables, and the well-dressed middle-aged waiter guided us to the exact center of the restaurant.
After ordering from the menu and taking our seats, the saintess's eyes shone eagerly as she asked me,
"Mr. Minjun, aren't you tired?"
"Hmm. I'm a little tired from being in the cold and then coming somewhere warm. Why do you ask?"
"Just a moment."
She then held out her palm toward me.
In an instant, white light enveloped me.
'…Healing Authority!'
It was Song Hana's unique ability.
The absurdly overpowered skill that had made her an S-rank saintess.
It used the least mana of any healing technique while restoring the most.
I checked Song Hana's information with [All-Seeing Eye].
<Status Window>
Name: Song Hana
Level: 0
Strength: 5
Agility: 8
Vitality: 6
Intelligence: 21
The bizarre distribution of her stats caught my eye: her Intelligence alone was higher than the sum of her Strength, Agility, and Vitality.
<Status Window>
Name: Kang Minjun
Level: 0
Strength: 19
Agility: 21
Vitality: 21
Intelligence: 16
This was markedly different from my own, whose stats were distributed fairly evenly overall.
'Even with the special bonus that raised all my stats by 10, her Intelligence was higher than mine.'
A vessel worthy of a saintess, perhaps.
I closed Song Hana's status window and switched to the [Unique Ability] tab instead.
<Unique Ability>
Name: Healing Authority
Grade: Transcendent
Description: Consumes 10% of current mana to completely restore the target. It even restores permanently damaged body parts and brings the body into peak condition.
It was astonishing.
It didn't merely restore someone to an adequate condition—it completely restored them.
In particular, that ridiculous feature of consuming only 10% of current mana could only be described as 'absurdly overpowered.'
It literally made infinite healing possible.
No wonder she had become a saintess.
"How do you feel? Is your body feeling better?"
"Yes, I feel great."
As my fatigue faded, the food naturally tasted better too.
No, perhaps my good appetite was actually the joy of having an S-rank saintess become mine.
"What are you going to do after we eat?"
"I'm planning to buy the supplies we need for the next trial. We've rested well, so we should move on now."
"Ah, right…."
"You don't need to be afraid. If we work together like we did in the tutorial, there won't be any problems."
…She nodded.
To be honest, I had to prepare thoroughly since half the population would disappear in the next trial, but our saintess, who only needed to heal, had no reason to worry about that.
We finished our meal pleasantly.
"Did you enjoy your feast?"
The middle-aged waiter approached and handed us dessert as he asked. Song Hana answered with a smile.
"Yes, it was absolutely delicious."
"I'm glad to hear it."
I asked the waiter,
"May I order something else from the menu?"
"Of course. What would you like?"
The menu was placed on the table. When I opened it, a menu option I hadn't seen earlier had been activated.
[Challenge: 'Aetherna Feast' Waiter's Trial]
"Huh? Are you going to eat more, Mr. Minjun?"
"No, I just thought I'd stretch a little since we've finished eating."
"Huh?"
A notification blinked before my eyes.
[Will you accept the challenge?]
Judging by the way she tilted her head back and forth, Song Hana couldn't see the notification.
'Challenges usually require special items.'
You had to enter while carrying one to unlock them.
But now, my resident privilege was offering to unlock it for free.
Since we'd paid so much for the meal, there was no reason not to accept. I pressed the challenge option firmly and showed it to the waiter.
"I'll take this."
"…I see."
At that moment, all the lights in the restaurant suddenly flickered before abruptly dimming. Darkness filled the entire place. The waiter suddenly turned into black smoke and disappeared.
"Huh?"
The saintess was flustered.
I was just as bewildered.
'Damn it. Since this was the first shelter, I thought the difficulty wouldn't be very high. Of all the countless challenges, it had to be this one?'
Realizing instinctively what kind of challenge it was, I pulled Song Hana to her feet and retreated with her to the corner of the restaurant.
Something pitch-black was rising abruptly from the floor of the hall, now bathed in dim light.
A pitch-black face with not a single glimmer of light or discernible feature.
The form, as though made of shadows, was profoundly strange and grim.
There were more than fifty of them, by a rough estimate.
Every one of them was holding a sharp knife.
Creak. Creak.
And the things that had just been summoned into the hall twisted their heads grotesquely and all turned to look at us at once.
They openly radiated dark, sticky killing intent.